gjert rognli

And the mountains are the same

The theme I've worked with is Coastal Sami and the northern Norwegian culture. A photo documentary about the changes that occur in Northern Norway today. From refraction between postwar establishment and the new time comes. The documentary shows new future that is forced forward by mainstream society, the demand for larger units in fisheries and agriculture. And also what the comprehensive globalization makes with communities in the north.

The Second World War hit Finnmark / North Troms hard and much of the pre-war buildings were destroyed by the occupying power by burning winter 1944.We call it “The burning land tacktick. Manndalen, where I come from, was the last place the Germans burned during the retreat southward. Occupation-power obliterated all traces of how coast Lapps living and how the cultural landscape had been.

After the war, began the reconstruction of the region with new buildings and optimism. And a new cultural landscape and architecture emerged. After this, the Norwegian Government built down the fisheries and reduced the number of small farms in the region. This has led to migration and decay of houses, barns, boast and an overgrown landscape. It is a culture that disappeared few years from now, and the people and their history with it. Decay is both beautiful and sad but tells us about the past and that  something new is on the way.